The use of educational technologies in teaching and learning presents pedagogical concerns and challenges to educators. Combining multimedia technologies with the Web has created new possibilities for the development of instructional materials to deliver course content. However, this use of technology continues to represent traditional conceptions…

The results of a college collaborative learning curriculum in Taiwan indicated satisfaction with the collaborative project resulting from familiarity with group members. Students asked more questions and they expressed more in class. The behaviors of feeling respected by group members, learning about self-expression and diverse opinions, as well…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

In order to explore the differences in engagement levels between entering and returning community college students, the researcher analyzed 13,300 surveys from the 2007 Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) pilot data set utilizing a quantitative methodology. This study focused on analyzing engagement levels of entering and returning…

Learning communities continue to be at the heart of teaching and learning today. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of the impact of the Freshman Academy/Learning Community program on student progress at a historically Black university. The authors also looked at the extent to which students engaged in their learning as a result of…

Significant progress has been made over the past four decades in enrolling more students from historically underrepresented groups in U.S. colleges and universities. While total enrollment increased by about 40% overall, minority student enrollment increased by 146%, with Hispanic undergraduate enrollment greatly outpacing other racial/ethnic…

This article discusses how a brief project-based unit promoted the learning of children in a first-grade classroom. The children attended a public elementary school located in a southeastern university town in the United States. Approximately 94% of the students in the school were from economically disadvantaged families. No children in this…

In this paper, we discuss the role of the educator in terms of designing a learning environment for the student which encourages the student to develop their own academic integrity. In such an environment, there is no need for the student to resort to plagiarism, as the learning and assessment tasks are not conducive to cheating, being unique and…

To study the effects of structured cooperative learning environments on helping interactions and behaviors in the early, middle, and later primary school years, a study was conducted in 11 classrooms across 4 schools in suburban Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Subjects were 172 children (56 in year 2, 68 in year 4, and 52 in year 6). Through…

This document is a curriculum resource aimed at correcting common misconceptions that people have of conditions in the developing world. It emphasizes the common needs and aspirations of all the world's children while focusing on cooperation as a basic human response that can be directed toward solving some major global problems. It is divided…

Expeditionary learning creates a learning environment in which teachers and students together take a journey into an area with many unknowns for the purpose of promoting self-discovery. Of the 10 principles of expeditionary learning, 7 closely match the practices of Outward Bound. As Outward Bound staff designed an inservice program on…

An 8-month study tracked 166 second graders of various ethnic backgrounds in an urban setting while they were being motivated to read through a literature-based reading and writing program. The classrooms in which the research was conducted used basal readers and did not have well-designed literacy centers. Collaboration was not an integral part…

In order to have a democratic society, equal rights to education are assumed. A democratic society needs citizens who are willing and able to commit themselves to lifelong learning--self-directed individual learning as well as collective learning. Learning in real life, although different for various people, can be seen as encompassing five steps:…

In the current climate of empowerment models, critical research, and deconstructed theory, this discussion raises some questions regarding the concept of "empowerment" and its use as a rubric for course and program design in teacher education. From the review of literature several usages of the term empowerment emerge. Each one is…

A teacher training course must serve as a model of turning theory into practice--a student-centered, collaborative effort involving active learners taking charge of their own learning--and that includes the teacher as well as the students. Only by active reading, writing, listening, and talking about these ideas--as opposed to merely being told to…